Here’s a Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van, spotted in a car-repair area in the far north of Beijing, the capital of China. The Beidouxing 5E panel van is directly related to the Suzuki Wagon R+. It features a 55 kW electric motor and a range of 268 km. It looks great in white, and it had to, because white was the only color Changhe offered.
About Changhe
The Changhe brand has had a long and complicated history. Initially, defense company AVIC owned Changhe; later, Changan Automobile took it over, and in 2013, BAIC acquired it. In 2022, BAIC discontinued the brand.
Changhe maintained a long-running joint venture with Suzuki to produce the first-generation Suzuki Wagon R+ locally, which it sold in China under the name Beidouxing (北斗星, Běidǒuxīng, Big Dipper).
Suzuki and Changhe variants
The JV-agreement permitted Changhe to launch its own models based on the Suzuki models. This was common at the time. The Beidouxing came thus in two kinds: the Change-Suzuki Beidouxing and the Change Beidouxing.
Furthermore, Change also developed several unique variants of the Beidouxing, including a modernized long-wheelbase version called the Beidouxing X5. On that basis, Changhe developed an electric version called the Beidouxing X5E. And on that basis, Change developed a panel van version, which is the subject of this post. Suzki had nothing to do with these variants – it was all Changhe’s own work.
This is the lineage: Changhe-Suzuki Beidouxing > Changhe Beidouxing > Changhe Bedouxing X5 > Changhe Beidouxing X5E > Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van.
Characters: 北汽昌河, Běiqì Chānghé, BAIC Changhe. BAIC is the owner, and Changhe is the brand.
Wacky rules for commercial vehicles
As we have discussed before, the Chinese government imposes all sorts of wacky rules on commercial vehicles. One rule requires owners to apply 3M reflective tape to the exterior of the cargo area. The owner of this Changhe also applied tape to the door, apparently by mistake, and later tried to peel it off. Another rule requires vehicles to display their body type and intended use; here, spray-painted stenciled characters read 封闭货车 (fēngbì huòchē), meaning “commercial enclosed cargo van.”
Furthermore, regulations require commercial vehicles to display weight-related information on the body so that police can quickly verify compliance. The marking 总质量 (zǒng zhìliàng) indicates the vehicle’s max gross mass, which in this case is 1650 kg.
The Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van
The Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van launched in 2017, so it’s not very old. Change covered up the side and rear windows, but it retains the rear doors. It also keeps the sporty five-spoke wheels and the roof spoiler.
北斗星 X5E, Běidǒuxīng X5E, with the E in blue. At the time, blue was the color associated with electric cars. EV-versions of existing vehicles always had blue markings and logos.
The interior
The interior proves the point: blue decorations around the air vents and the drive selector. The cabin is surprisingly clean for a van, with gray fabric seats and a large-diameter 3-spoke, perfectly round steering wheel.
The center stack is loaded with buttons and dials, and it even has a CD player! That was quite rare in China by 2017. Most cars had since changed to MP3-based audio systems. The gearlever has a cool EV logo on top, again in blue.
Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van – specifications
The Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van was a front-wheel drive car. The electric motor provided 55 kW (75 hp) and 180 Nm. It had a 105 km/h top speed.
The badge on the left side is an official government-mandated EV identifier that China required on electric vehicles for several years. Every new EV had this badge, passenger cars and commercial vehicles. There was a separate badge for hybrids. The characters are: 电动汽车 (diàndòng qìchē, electric car). The ‘268’ badge refers to the range. Change offered two battery packs: 22 kWh for a 160 km range, and 32 kWh for a 268 km range. DC fast-charging took 45 minutes, and AC charging took 5 hours.
More blue on the Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van, around the grille, and in the headlights. The dimensions are: 3664/1610/1722, 2485. The cargo area had a 1750-liter capacity. At the front, it had ventilated disc brakes, but at the rear, Changhe fitted old-school, but perfectly capable, drum brakes.
Price of the Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van
In 2017, Change sold the Changhe Beidouxing X5E panel van with the 32 kWh battery for 143.000 yuan. That’s about $21K in 2017 exchange rates. The 22 kWh version cost 115.000 yuan ($17K). It was quite a popular car; Change sold hundreds of them to the Beijing postal service and other government agencies. Change-Suzuki also used the panel vans as service vehicles. Production ended in late 2019 when newer purpose-built electric vans took over the market.